"I'm not saying we need to. I was just asking." Mama, I don't need you and Dad to pay for my life." I know, baby! I wasn't trying to say that. I just ...anted to let you know that we can foot the bill just in case." I'll book a ticket to D.C. tomorrow. Two weeks from now." We'll be here."Xan was overly annoyed. His mom and dad never seemed to admit the success of him or his sister. Portia was thirty-two and employed as a nightly news anchor at one of Los Angeles' top stations. Her husband was a. "Something else is bothering you, isn't it? Come on, you can tell yourMa anything."She nodded. "I know that, Ma. I'm just not sure how to explain it. WhenI got to the store, and I saw Pete....I had this strange fluttery feelinginside. He's the same Pete I've known for years. Could that mean....I havefeelings for him? The way a girl has feelings for a boy?"I nodded. "I think that's exactly what it means, daughter. And don't youthink that's a good thing? Whatever power changed you seemed to. There’s not a lot of traffic at this time of the day.’ Bella smiled. ‘You’re the one with the local knowledge,’ she said. But she started packing up her laptop anyway. At the station, Tom parked in the five minute zone and walked Bella to the platform. ‘I’ve really enjoyed today,’ she said. ‘And thank you for lunch. You’re a man of many talents.’ And then she gave him a hug and a kiss that felt, to Tom at least, rather more than just perfunctory. Talk about confusing signals. When Tom checked. I wasn't attracted to my cousin! Not now and not then! Of course, she did feel very good in my arms."That's an answer," she replied. I couldn't see her face, but for some reason I thought she was smiling. A moment later she said softly, "You know, I used to have dreams about us." Do you think Ned and Bob are going to let us out soon?" I asked quickly, changing the subject."Not really," she replied, thankfully letting the subject drop. "You know them. They're probably drinking again." Great," I.